Field
The present disclosure relates to optical communication equipment and, more specifically but not exclusively, to a multimode vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL).
Description of the Related Art
This section introduces aspects that may help facilitate a better understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is in the prior art or what is not in the prior art.
A vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) is a semiconductor-based laser that emits a light beam in a direction that is substantially orthogonal to the substrate on which the layered structure of the laser is formed. Due to this geometry, thousands of VCSELs can be manufactured on a single semiconductor wafer. An additional benefit of the VCSEL technology is that each VCSEL can be tested at various stages of the manufacturing process while still in wafer form, which helps to achieve a better-controlled and more-predictable yield and enables lower production costs compared to those of other semiconductor-laser technologies. For at least some of these reasons, the VCSEL technology is being currently actively developed.